The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice is seeking volunteer members to serve on its new Consumer Debt Committee.

The Illinois Supreme Court building in Springfield has been home to the Supreme Court Library since 1908. In honor of National Library Week, we’re recognizing Supreme Court Librarian, Geoff Pelzek.

As anyone who is even tangentially involved with the Illinois state courts is aware, the past six months since the September 2023 effective date of what is often called the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) have brought transformative change to the criminal pretrial system in Illinois. Thanks to the massive undertaking by the Illinois courts - at all levels - to proactively prepare for this moment, key court stakeholders – judges, state and defense counsel, pretrial officers, clerks and others charged with implementation - were ready on day one.

There are many news stories in the media today questioning the integrity of elections. Election judges work hard to ensure elections run smoothly and properly in order to certify the proper victor in contested races. However, questioning election results is not a new phenomenon. Election losers may claim partisan politics or fraud resulted in their losses, but the United States boasts a system that ensures secure and fair elections.

Beyond the Bench is a monthly feature to get to know more about judges and justices in the Illinois Courts, beyond their legal duties.

Illinois judges are increasingly being recognized for their dedicated work in courtrooms throughout the state. Here are some of the recent honors received by Illinois judges:

Justice Lisa Holder White of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for an At-Large Circuit Judge vacancy in the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

One of the core functions of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice is the creation of certain statewide standardized court forms. Hopefully you have heard (or seen) that our statewide courts forms are undergoing a big graphic redesign that will improve their usability and make them easier on the eyes.

Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced that the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Carl E. Metz, II as an associate judge of the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit.

The Illinois Supreme Court has received and approved the report and recommendations from the Pretrial Release Appeals Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force was convened to thoroughly review pretrial release appeals and their impact on the caseloads in each of the five Appellate Court districts.